Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id MAA14517 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sat, 9 Dec 2000 12:14:27 GMT Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2000 11:21:17 +0000 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: virus: Psychological Profile of Hall Message-ID: <20001209112117.B1337@reborntechnology.co.uk> References: <NBBBIIDKHCMGAIPMFFPJCECPFOAA.richard@brodietech.com> <3.0.5.32.20001209000554.008705f0@mailhost.rongenet.sk.ca> <200012090556.AAA20101@mail2.lig.bellsouth.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.5i In-Reply-To: <200012090556.AAA20101@mail2.lig.bellsouth.net>; from joedees@bellsouth.net on Sat, Dec 09, 2000 at 12:01:35AM -0600 From: Robin Faichney <robin@reborntechnology.co.uk> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Sat, Dec 09, 2000 at 12:01:35AM -0600, Joe E. Dees wrote:
> >
> To take this point to its extreme, yet empirical, conclusion, some
> people on this list have steadfastly and Buddhistically maintained
> that they do not exist (or at least, they have maintained that they
> do not possess selves).
Belief in the self is exactly like any other belief: enslavement to
the meme. Belief is emotional attachment. All we need for practical
purposes are working hypotheses. See Buddhism Without Beliefs by
Stephen Batchelor.
In the case of the self, sometimes the concept is useful, and sometimes
it is not. Just like any other concept, in fact. Pick them up and put
them down as appropriate. Don't cling to them, or needlessly reject them,
either. Needless rejection of a meme is enslavement to its negation.
Belief in the self is like belief in God -- or, for that matter, belief
in memetics: at best unnecessary, at worst, positively dysfunctional.
-- Robin Faichney robin@reborntechnology.co.uk=============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Dec 09 2000 - 12:15:52 GMT